Turns out the pit had corned a lady in her garage. As my dog and I reached the block, the pit left the lady and rand straight for my dog. I have no doubt that the dog silently approached us to kill. And it was completely unprovoked.
Your account matches many I’ve read in that it’s unprovoked “Hunting” type behavior. It’s not defense or standard territorial behavior - that entails barking and “warning.” It’s shark like stealth. Shark like thrashing. The videos I’ve watched show the dog running with it’s head down, tongue out, silent and usually wagging the tail as it approaches its victim. Only when the jaws clamp down and the shark like thrash begins is there any indication the dog is hostile. This was part of the breeding - attack without warning is an advantage in pit fighting. But now these dogs “get out” and go hunting people and pets with lethal pit techniques.
The video I linked up thread - I’ve read comments claiming that the woman holding the child’s hand was an idiot etc. because she was slow to react. I believe it was inconceivable to her that a dog could bounce through an intersection and silently make a beeline for her child and when it reached the child - start to kill - like a hyena bringing down a baby antelope - it just didn’t compute in the world of domesticated dog behavior. Without warning and that horrible shaking behavior to try to rip the kid in half. I’ve seen a version of that video where dazed onlookers can only gasp the words “all the blood.” That’s the problem - we’re used to domesticated dogs, not pit bulls. She’d have to aggress against the pit before it attacked while it looked like it was just trotting down the street if she wanted to keep her child safe. She’d have to attack or kill it on sight. IN your case, what are you supposed to do - continuously swivel your head 360 degrees for the silent approach of a hunting pit bull as if you live on the Serengetti? THey aren’t domesticated animals and they violate the unspoken agreement that pets have with humans. Blaming the owners is just window dressing for people who want to keep these wild animals preying on the population.